A Liverpool charity that has supported rough sleepers on the streets of the city for years is set to open a new coffee shop that will train homeless people.
The Papercup Project has become one of Liverpool's best-known and most well supported homelessness charities - with volunteers regularly seen offering support, food, clothes and company to some of the city's most vulnerable people.
But now the charity, founded and run by Michelle Langan, is set to take a big step forward when it opens a new city centre coffee shop.
Read more: City centre homeless shelter plan falls through as £4m government funding returned
Papercup Coffee is set to open to the public on Monday on the site of a former pub in Queens Square.
As well as operating as a coffee shop to the public, which will raise funds for the charity, it will also house a training centre for those who have lost their homes or ended up on the streets.
The idea is to provide people with new skills and training that will hopefully lead them to being able to take up employment either at the coffee shop itself - or with other hospitality businesses in the city.
Speaking ahead of Monday's launch, Ms Langan, who set the charity up five years ago, said: "It has been a long process getting the shop ready and we are so excited to be opening on Monday.
"We have never done anything like this before and we have learnt so much.
"People have been so kind donating things, we had a £10,000 coffee maker donated to us and have had lots of help."
That help included a team from global agriculture firm Cargills descending on the Queens Square site to help with the revamp.
Ms Langan said her long-term hope is that the coffee shop will help to get people off the streets and into jobs.
She said: "Upstairs we are going to have a training area, where we can help people to learn new skills and also build their confidence, which is a massive thing for people who have lost their homes or ended up on the streets."
"The hope is that we will be able to employ people here but also that we can give others the skills they need to get work in cafes and restaurants elsewhere in the city."
She added: "It has been a stressful time, this project has taken over my life, but we can't wait to open now."
Guests arriving at Papercup Coffee next week will be greeted by manager Dan Johnson, who will be splitting his time with the new venture - and his other commitments as a Michael Buble impersonator.
He said: "This will be my main job and I'm very excited to be involved - but I will be keeping up my Michael Buble singing work too.
"I worked for a big coffee chain before, but I was really interested in this job and how it will help homeless people, I think that will be really rewarding."
He added: "It's heart-breaking to see how many people there are on the streets so it will be great to help them through the coffee shop."
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